Low Impact Development

A Practitioner’s Guide

This workbook, created for a series of statewide LID workshops in June 2006, includes

An introduction to Low Impact Design;

An overview of traditional versus LID roadway designs;

LID-based stormwater management, and;

Opportunities for alternative wastewater management.

The workbook provides information on better site design principles, along with best management practices (BMPs) for stormwater and wastewater management that minimize the impacts to environmental resources. It also identifies the level of road design for residential streets necessary for public safety without overbuilding and exacerbating environmental impacts. The design requirements for stormwater BMPs are based on the climate and rainfall characteristics experienced in Hawaii, taking into account the variability in rainfall with elevation and with the windward and leeward sides of the islands. These criteria were developed by the authors in conjunction with the Center for Watershed Protection. The book also contains a series of LID references for users to research issues in greater depth.